Serving area connector

ABSTRACT

This disclosure describes multipair telephone cable connection apparatus for cross-connecting between a large number of pairs from a feeder cable to pairs of distribution cables. The connector typically is used in above-ground exchange area locations, operating in a system in which it is the only necessary interconnection point for about 500 subscribers. The closure is characterized by a square cross section, three vertical working faces, and an open side. Two of the working faces, opposite each other, mount quick-connect blocks to which distribution pairs are permanently terminated. The third face uses similar connector blocks to terminate pairs from the feeder cable. All cables enter through the closure base and pass through its interior. Jumpers are affected only on the exterior faces, and are arranged easily without becoming unmanageable.

United States Paten [15] 3,660,613 Mullin et al. [4 1 May 2, 1972 54] SERVING AREA CONNECTOR Primary Examiner-Kathleen H. Claffy Assistant Examinerl-lorst F. Brauner [72] Inventors 2235 gmz g yg g sgg z i Attorney-R. J. Guenther and Edwin B. Cave 57 ABSTRACT [73] Asslgnee: 3 gqf sg This disclosure describes multipair telephone cable connecunay 1 tion apparatus for cross-connecting between a large number [22] Filed: Jan. 21, 1971 of pairs from a feeder cable to pairs of distribution cables. The connector typically is used in above-ground exchange area lo- [2 l] PP 108,360 cations, operating in a system in which it is the only necessary interconnection point for about 500 subscribers. The closure 52 us. Cl ......179/98 174/38 is characteriz'ed by a Square 51 Int. Cl. .3641; 1 00 faces and Sidewmking faces 58 Field of Search ..179/98- 31'7/99- 174/50 38 Posi"3 each her, quickmnnect which I tribution pairs are permanently terminated. The third face uses similar connector blocks to terminate pairs from the [56] References Cled feeder cable. All cables enter through the closure base and UNITED STATES PATENTS pass through its interior. Jumpers are affected only on the ex- 3 604 835 9/1971 H h 174/38 terior faces, and are arranged easily without becoming unam on mana eable 3.538136 11/1970 Baumgartner ..l74/38 g 1 7 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures l l l PATENTEDMM 2:912

SHEET 1 0F 8 FJ. MULL/N ai RB. RAMSEY ATTORNEY PATENTEDMAY 2 I972 3,660,651 3 sum w a FIG 5 'tribu 1 SERVING CONNECTGR FIELD or THE INVENTION This invention relates to telephone multipair cable connectinglpoifits; and specifically, to a'c'onnectorinterface between high capacity feeder cable and distribution cables.

BACKGROUND OF "THE INVENTION p v lt is w'ell re'cdgnizedtoday that utility lines of all sorts'should be below :ground wherever possible. Where community planning but (if telephonecable in advance of, or-con'curr'eritly with, 'homecons'truction, it is readily possible to' connect, say, 500 homes with one or two telephone pairs each,andlead'tliesei'pairs completely underground to a single abov'egro'undcross connect point. Here, the pairs can be conjn'ected to fee'dercable pairs leading to a telephone central offic'e.In 5rdtir for cross-ctinnect'apparatus tohandle such'high liproble'msmust be'solv'ed to which cientsolutions. I nonally, there its a "general 'ne'ed' throughout the telephonee'xchangearea cable-plant for a centralized closuretype control point "at which "to cross-connect feeder and disca 1e, contrast to numerous aboveground sites suchasiprevails today. ;Accrding'l'y,'the below inventive objectsare the'motivatingforcebehind thepresent invention:

. "to r'nin'imiz e th'e number-of aboveground cable closures for a givenserviee area; I to "achieve all cross-connections between feeder and 'dis- 'ti'ibutidn cablefor' agiven serving area in one place;

'in ahigh'pair-density losu'rgto divorcethethe cross-connect field completelyfrom the *incorningandioutg'oing cable pairs; 1

to minimize or eliminate the interference within a crossconnect field among-jumpers; i

Ito quickly andcorrectly identifyin a large connecting field anyfgivenpair;

to achieve all'o f theabove itemsin apiece of apparatus ineX pensIveIyandreliably. I

sum-MAR or TFIEINVENTION Pu'r'su'zintto'theiinventioh, a multipair'telephone'cable con- 'nection apparatus for cross-connecting between a large number of 'p'airs'frorn afeedercableto'pairs (if-distribution cables'is ch'aracteriaed by a'squa'r'e cross-section, three working faces, and ano'pen side. Two ofthe working faces, the ones opposite each other, mount quick-connect blocks to which distributionpairs arefpermanently terminated. The third face 'u's'es like-connectingblocks'toterrnInate'paIrs'frOmthe feeder cable. -Allcable's-enter through the closure base and pass'up- 'wardlythroughits interior. Jumpers are effected only on the eit'riorfac'es, and are arranged easily using the corner chany The conn'ec'tor"ismounteii on an upright rectangular frame whichahhors upohaprecast 'concrete slab. 'Inthes'lab center vis a h'ollowopeningthrough whichfeeder and distribution cable 'are lead. A'rubb'e'r gram-m me sealing 'tap'e assures watertight integrity throu'g h this'Iead-inpoint. The entire assembly islprote'ctcd it'ha cover housing'that isbolted to a nan owskm'wnne'aeam'thenab.

The invention and its ftirtherobjects, features, and advantages-may be readily disce'rn'e'd from a reading of the detailed descriptionto follow of an illustrative embodiment.

shows h mauatifig 'rrame secured to the slab and thecables gronndedto the'fraines;

FIG. 5 shows the mounting frame erected with connector blocks installed and skirt'in place;

FIG. 6 shows a portion of a connector block field with means for leading'in conductor pairs;

FIG. 7 shows the closure with cross-connections partly male; I FIG. 8 shows the closure fully connected, looking in through the open side; I

FIG. 9 shows the housing cover in 'positiontand FIG. 10 shows a pair of indexing strips installed.

All figures are either top, frontal, or side perspective sketches; and are numerically arranged essentially to correspond with the assembly sequence of the closure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION or AN ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT As seen in FIG. 1, a base'frame 10 consisting of four side angle irons 11 through 'l4'and four cornerstakes 15 through 18, provides a rigid assembly for anchoring a concrete slab 19. The components of base frame 10 may be fastened together by any convenient means, such as bolts 20.

Slab 19 is a precast concrete member comprising a central bottom chamber 21 having a floor 22 with an opening 23 therein and, as seen'in FIG. 2, a recess 24 around the walls of opening 23. The slab 19 may advantageously be square in plan view, as is chamber 21, floor 22 and opening 23. Chamber 21 is dimensioned to fit over the assembled side members 11-14 of the base frame 10. The latter is bolted to the floor 22, as with bolts 25.

Telephone cables, such as feeder cable 26 and distribution cables 27 and 28 are led through the base frame l0 and the opening 23 in the concrete slab. Then, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, agrommet 29 adapted to fit onto the recess '24 and'havinga number'of cable holes 30 through 33 is prepared. Each cable 26-28 is given'a sealing tape collar such as collar 34; and the grommet 29 is seated on recess 24. Sealing compound 35, seen in FIG. 3, then is poured between the collar 34 and the grommet holes30-32. For the unused cable hole 33, a duct plug 36 is used as a removable seal.

In planting. the closurebase structure, it is preferable first -to excavate around the buried cable to avoid damage during inches below the top of base frame '10. At this point, concrete slab 19 is lowered onto the top of frame 10'. After the grommet is sealed, cable sheath from the cables 26-28 is removed beginning about nine inches above the grommet, to expose the pair groups.

The housing frame 40 shown in FIGS. 5 and 8 comprises a lower frame 41, seen in FIG. 4. Frame 41 consists of four angle iron uprights 42-45, the interior angle of which faces outwardly. The-legs 42-45 connect at their lower'ends to the sides of floor brackets 46-49, as by bolts 50. The. floor brackets 46-49 in turn are bolted to the concrete slab 19, as with bolts 25.

The legs 42-45 are buttressed by horizontal struts 5l-54, which also serve as grounding bars. These'support cable straps such as 55, to which the respective cables 26-28 are clamped as with clamps 56. By conventional means, not shown, the

metallic sheath of each cable is rigidly connected to the clamps 56 thereby to provide electrical continuity between the sheath and the base frame 10 for grounding.

The upper frame of housing frame 40 consists of a top 61 bolted to the legs 42-45 as seen n FIG. 5. J-shaped cover guides, all designated 66, for use with cover in FIG. 9, are fastened to the legs 42-45 and 62-65, there being two cover guides 66 associated with each leg.

CONNECTOR BLOCKS IN MOUNTINGS Indexing strips 70, shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, are supported in a horizontal rows across three of the four vertical faces of the closure. Construction of these strips advantageously is in accordance with the disclosure of B. C. Ellis, Jr. in patent application Ser. No. 69,5ll, filed Sept. 10, 1970, assigned to applicants assignee and which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Referring also to FIG. 10, index strips 70 are fastened at each of their respective ends to mounting brackets 71. Each strip 70 includes, for example, 50 opposed teeth pairs such as 72. As seen in FIG. 8, a backplate 73 is attached between the interior ends of the mounting brackets 71.

As seen in FIG. each backplate 73 includes a right-hand column of passageways 74 and a left-hand column of passageways 75. Pursuant to one aspect of the invention, the spaces between the adjacent index strips 70 are reserved alternately for cable pairs, and cross-connect or jumper pairs. The cable pair spaces are the ones containing the throughholes 74-75.

The index strip assembly shown in FIG. 10 is fastened to the upright legs 62-65 by suitable fasteners to the mounting bracket legs 71a. The index strips are placed across three of the four other faces of the structure, and from the lid 61 down to the struts 51-53. The fourth side of the structure is opened, pursuant to one aspect of the invention, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 8.

Feeder cable 26,'as shown in FIG. 8, is unsheathed to exposed 25-pair binder groups 76. In the telephone cable art, these binder groups 76 are color coded; and it is advantageous to use these codes to place the binder groups in a desired sequence in respective ones of the slots 74, 75. In this fashion, a given binder group color code is always assigned to a specific one of the slots 74, 75. The binder groups 76 are threaded through the cable slots 74, 75 and then sequentially into the index strips 70 seen in FIG. 10. The feeder cable conductors are placed in the index strips with light finger pressure, and then seated with a tool such as described in the aforementioned Ellis case. I

Advantageously, the feeder cable 26 is connected to the closure face opposite to the open side so that the two faces flanking it are available to receive, in the same fashion, pairs from the distribution cables 27, 28. Designation strips 77, shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, are placed over the distribution feeder cable pairs after the latter have been connected in the foregoing fashion.

In the case of the embodiment being described, it is contemplated that each pair from the feeder cable 26 shall be connected with two specific pairs of the distribution cable 27, 28. Cross-connecting is achieved by jumpers between connector blocks 80 which are placed over the indexing strips 70 in the .manner shown in FIG. 10. The connector blocks 80 are substantially those described in the aforementioned Ellis patent application; and their manner of insertion onto the strips 70 likewise is described there.

In accordance with some cable pair assignment plan, the jumpers 85, shown in FIG. 7, are led from the appropriate connector blocks 80, associated with the feeder cable 26, on through the fanning slot 78 formed in the sides of bracket 71, down the jumper cable comer channel formed by the vertical bracket sides and the associated upright leg such as 62-65, and thence in through the distribution cable fanning slot 78, to be connected to a second appropriate connector block 80 associated with one of the distribution cables 27, 28. Jumper wire guides 86, disposed along the length of the jumper channels shown in FIG.'7 help to maintain good housekeeping for the jumpers.

After all terminations have been made and prior to placing cover 90, weather caps 57 are placed around at the break in the sheath for each cable 26-28, and plugging compound is poured in to build a water dam to protect the cable cores.

A skirt assembly, that advantageously is in two pieces 92 and 93, as seen in FIG. 5, is fastened to the lower frame assembly 41. The skirt assembly 92, 93 includes an upper recessed lip 94. The cover fits onto the lip 94 in the manner shown in FIG. 9; and is secured thereto by two bolts 96 (only one shown). The manner of covering the closure housing may, however, be varied to include mechanisms such as doors that are vertically hung so as to form the cover 90 when closed as in FIG. 9, but by being hinged vertically open as standard doors.

It is to be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various modifications may be made thereto by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for interconnecting conductor pairs from two or more multipair telephone cables comprising:

a multisided frame having an interior corridor;

means for leading incoming and outgoing multipair telephone cables upwardly into said corridor;

means for supporting the ends of pairs from each said incoming cable in respective flat vertical fields upon a respective one of said sides, said means comprising a plurality of index strips arranged on said fields in horizontal rows, and first and second brackets and a connecting backplate mounted to said frame for rigidly mounting said index strips;

the spaces between successive adjacent pairs of index strips alternately being reserved for pairs from said incoming or outgoing cables, and for jumper wires; and

jumper wire channels comprising vertical corridors between adjacent sides of said frame, said corridors being partially defined by adjacent sides of said index strip mounting brackets.

2. Apparatus for interconnecting the pairs of a multipair telephone feeder cable with pairs from one or more multipair telephone distribution cable comprising:

a four-sided upright frame having an open bottom, an interior corridor, and four exterior sides;

a base frame comprising four ground stakes connected by a square top frame;

a concrete slab having a bottom chamber for mounting upon said base frame top, a central opening for receiving said distribution and feeder cables, and grommet means for sealing said central opening when said cables'are in place;

means for metallically connecting said base frame four-sided frame through said slab;

indexing strip means for terminating said feeder cable pairs upon a selected exterior side of said equipment;

indexing strip means for terminating the pairs of said distribution cable on either or both of the twosaid exterior sides adjacent to said feeder cable exterior side; and

means including the vertical exterior zone between the respective said exterior sides for channeling cross-connecting jumper wires between selected pairs from said feeder cable side and selected pairs from said distribution cable sides.

3. Apparatus pursuant to claim 2, wherein said jumper wire channeling means includes jumper wire guide means comprising one or more pairs of opposed J-shaped loops mounted on each of the four corners of said upright frame.

4. Apparatus pursuant to claim 3, further comprising indexing strip mounting means comprising:

a backplate disposed across three of said four exterior sides;

first and second brackets extending outwardly at right angles from each said backplate, said indexing strips being attached in horizontal rows between said brackets, said brackets further comprising fanning strips for accornmodating said jumper wires, and said backplate including slots at both ends of each alternate backplate region defined between adjacent said index strips, said slots accommodating pair groups from said cables.

and said piece skirt assembly mounted from said concrete slab around and to the base of said equipment, said skirt assembly including a recessed horizontal lip, and a housing cover cross-sectionally the same as the skirt assembly, supported on said lip.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said grommet further comprises cable holes, each cable having a plastic collar in the vicinity of said grommet.

l l l l l 

1. Apparatus for interconnecting conductor pairs from two or more multipair telephone cables comprising: a multisided frame having an interior corridor; means for leading incoming and outgoing multipair telephone cables upwardly into said corridor; means for supporting the ends of pairs from each said incoming cable in respective flat vertical fields upon a respective one of said sides, said means comprising a plurality of index strips arranged on said fields in horizontal rows, and first and second brackets and a connecting backplate mounted to said frame for rigidly mounting said index strips; the spaces between successive adjacent pairs of index strips alternately being reserved for pairs from said incoming or outgoing cables, and for jumper wires; and jumper wire channels comprising vertical corridors between adjacent sides of said frame, said corridors being partially defined by adjacent sides of said index strip mounting brackets.
 2. Apparatus for interconnecting the pairs of a multipair telephone feeder cable with pairs from one or more multipair telephone distribution cable comprising: a four-sided upright frame having an open bottom, an interior corridor, and four exterior sides; a base frame comprising four ground stakes connected by a square top frame; a concrete slab having a bottom chamber for mounting upon said base frame top, a central opening for receiving said distribution and feeder cables, and grommet means for sealing said central opening when said cables are in place; means for metallically connecting said base frame and said four-sided frame through said slab; indexing strip means for terminating said feeder cable pairs upon a selected exterior side of said equipment; indexing strip means for terminating the pairs of said distribution cable on either or both of the two said exterior sides adjacent to said feeder cable exterior side; and means including the vertical exterior zone between the respective said exterior sides for channeling cross-connecting jumper wires between selected pairs from said feeder cable side and selected pairs from said distribution cable sides.
 3. Apparatus pursuant to claim 2, wherein said jumper wire channeling means includes jumper wire guide means comprising one or more pairs of opposed J-shaped loops mounted on each of the foUr corners of said upright frame.
 4. Apparatus pursuant to claim 3, further comprising indexing strip mounting means comprising: a backplate disposed across three of said four exterior sides; first and second brackets extending outwardly at right angles from each said backplate, said indexing strips being attached in horizontal rows between said brackets, said brackets further comprising fanning strips for accommodating said jumper wires, and said backplate including slots at both ends of each alternate backplate region defined between adjacent said index strips, said slots accommodating pair groups from said cables.
 5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein said four-sided frame further comprises four angle-iron legs disposed in a square configuration with their interior angle facing outwardly, horizontal bars connecting adjacent ones of said legs slightly above their base, said bars including rigid straps for supporting said distribution and feeder cables and for grounding metallic sheath of said cables.
 6. Apparatus pursuant to claim 5, further comprising a two-piece skirt assembly mounted from said concrete slab around and to the base of said equipment, said skirt assembly including a recessed horizontal lip, and a housing cover cross-sectionally the same as the skirt assembly, supported on said lip.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said grommet further comprises cable holes, each cable having a plastic collar in the vicinity of said grommet. 